It Takes All Kinds
by Sterling Dragonfly
Summary: Gus lives with his two dads, Brian and Justin. He is assigned a school project about Family Diversity, which he dreads completing due to classmates' harassment about his parents being gay. He works on the project while on vacation with his dads.
1. School Blues

School Blues

School sucked these days.

Ever since Gus had presented his project on Family Heritage at the beginning of the school year, he had been harassed by some of the other kids about having two fathers and two mothers instead of a 'normal' family.

As if most of the kids he knew had normal families (whatever _normal_ was). His friend Rachel had two homes—one with her single mom and the other with her dad, step-mom and half-brother. Tommy's parents had died when he was a baby and he lived with his grandma. Stephen had been placed with a foster family when his mom took off for parts unknown and his dad wasn't able to take care of him. Sarah lived with her mom and the latest in a string of boyfriends—she didn't even know the name of her dad. None of them were ragged on about their families, but Gus was constantly teased about his parents.

Gus had been excited the first week of school. Finally in the fourth grade, he had felt very grown-up when the teacher had assigned their first 'big' research project—describe their family history.

For weeks, he had, along with the help of his Dad and Pops, collected information on his parents' families. His Nana Jen came over to the loft a couple of nights, bringing some Taylor family tree information and pictures of his Pops and Aunt Molly when they were babies. Pops had been embarrassed when Dad got a hold of a photo showing a naked blond baby lying on his tummy on a blanket in front of a Christmas tree. Dad teased him for days about showing off his best feature at such an early age. When Gus asked his dad to explain, Pops turned a bright red, Nana Jen laughed and Dad smirked, telling him he would explain the whole thing when he was older.

Gus heard that comment a lot.

Pops got even with Dad however, when he made Dad contact his mother to get information on the Kinney side of the family. Dad ranted for hours before Pops told him to suck it up and get over himself. The atmosphere around the Kinney-Taylor household was quite cool for a while, but Pops ignored Dad's bad mood (as well as ignoring Dad himself) and eventually Dad had come around. Gus had been sent to stay with his Grandma Deb and Uncle Vic one night, and when he got back the next day, his dads were as huggy-kissy as ever and he had the Kinney info as well.

One Saturday, his dad drove him over to his Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house for dinner. They were the parents of his mom, Lindsay. Gus didn't _really_ hate going over to their place—he just felt uncomfortable when he was there. Grandma Peterson didn't like Dad very much and she never acted interested in Gus' activities either. Grandpa Peterson was okay as long as Grandma wasn't around, which wasn't very often.

Dad had obviously talked to Grandma before they went over, since Grandma already had several photo albums laid out on the coffee table. Gus tried to be polite and pay attention, but Grandma had talked on and on and he soon found himself thinking about his new GameBoy™ game. He did listen when Grandma mentioned the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, but quickly became confused by all the different names she used. Luckily for him, his dad had taken better notes than he did and along with the few photos Grandma gave him, he had enough to complete his mom's side of the family.

His mama's family, the Marcus', lived out of town, so he spent several hours talking to his Nanny and Papa on the phone. They had mailed a box of photos and papers to him that covered over a hundred years of their family history, as well as some reference material about the Jewish religion.

Nanny was funny and told him about different pranks his mama had pulled when she was young. He enjoyed hearing about his mama as a little girl, because he didn't remember either her or his mom. They had been killed in an airplane crash when he was two. He came to live with his dad and Pops at the loft after his moms' deaths.

His dad had told him that before he was born, his mom and mama had wanted a baby very much. Since he was Lindsay's friend, he had agreed to be the father. Dad knew a lot of stories about his mom, but he didn't talk about Mama very much. Pops did though, so he was able to learn about both his moms.

After his arrival, his dads purchased the loft below and remodeled the two floors to suit their new needs as a family. His dads' bedroom was located on the top floor, along with Dad's office and Pops' art studio. The lower floor had the kitchen, dining room, and family room as well as Gus' bedroom and a guest room. There was a spiral staircase connecting the two floors. The staircase walls were filled with photos (taken mostly by Dad), and sketches and paintings (done by both his mom and Pops) of their various family members.

Gus gathered all the family information together and set it up on the dining room table. Dad had brought home several pieces of foam board from his office at Kinnetik and Pops helped him with two different layouts.

The first board showed Gus at the base of his family tree. He carefully wrote the names of his four parents above his own, with their family members' names branching off in all directions. Pops, who was a wonderful artist, helped him sketch a tree around the names, then Gus had carefully filled in the line work with paint.

The second board was filled with pictures. He had shown his whole extended family on it. One photo showed him with his dads at the beach. Another was of the day he put on ice skates for the first time. There were images of him as a baby with his mom and mama; his Grandma Deb and Uncle Vic dancing in their kitchen; his Auntie Em cooking for a party (with Uncle Ted sneaking tastes in the background) and Uncle Mikey and Uncle Ben with their adopted son Hunter at his high school graduation. Others showed Nana Jen, Dad, Pops and himself with Aunt Molly and Uncle Jacob at their wedding; his Pops and Aunt Daphne at one of Pop's art shows; and his Dad, dressed in one of his designer suits, making a presentation at work.

One of his favorites was of the entire family at his second birthday party. Dad had set up the camera on a timer and everyone was seated on his moms' back steps, with him in the center. Dad had to run to get in the photo in time, and he tripped over a forgotten toy and landed in Pops' lap. Pops was very fond of that photo, saying it showed Dad's willingness to make a fool of himself over Pops. Dad never responded verbally, but would give Pops a look that made the blond laugh.

His project finished, he proudly made his speech in front of his classmates, and even though the teacher gave him an A, the other kids in his class weren't as accepting.

Gus had been raised to celebrate people's differences and didn't have any real experience with prejudice. He knew not everyone accepted his dads' life choices—his Grandmother Kinney, his Aunt Claire and his Grandfather Taylor (none of whom he had ever met) were proof of that. His dad had explained that his Grandma and Grandpa Peterson weren't happy that his mom and mama had loved each other and had avoided the ceremony when the two women were married. Gus had overheard Grandma Deb and Uncle Vic one time, discussing the effects of a bashing his Pops had suffered, simply because he and Dad had danced and kissed at Pops' high school prom. He understood all of this, but only came face to face with reality the day after his presentation.

Pops had dropped him off in front of the school, as usual. After waving goodbye, Gus turned to make his way to his classroom, and literally ran into two of the biggest bullies in school. Matthew Godwin and Joshua Maguire were in the fifth grade, and regularly tormented the younger kids. Gus avoided them as much as possible, but they had obviously been waiting for him today.

"Hey, Gussy. That your faggot father?" Matthew poked Gus in the chest as he spoke.

"Umm, yeah, that was my Pops." Gus tried to sidestep the two larger boys, but Matthew managed to stay in front of him.

Matthew asked, "Is he your real dad? You don't look like him."

"No, my biological father is my dad, Brian. Justin is my Pops."

"They're fags, huh? And your moms were dykes?"

Gus nodded while trying to figure out where this conversation was going. "Yeah, mom and mama were lesbians and Dad and Pops are gay. So?"

Matthew made a disgusted face and sneered, "My dad said all fags should be killed, that they're not normal. He called them freaks."

Gus took a deep breath, trying to contain his temper. "My dad and Pops are not freaks and I don't want them to die. They love me and I love them."

Joshua, quiet until now, spoke up softly, "My grandma says that fags are going to hell because they're an abomin… abomination before God."

"Dad and Pops are good. They don't hurt other people and they love each other. Now, I need to get to class." Gus once again tried to get past Matthew, but was prevented from leaving by a hand that gripped his arm tightly.

"Are you a queer too? Do you like little boys like your daddies?" Matthew jerked on Gus' arm and continued, "Are you a sicko, just like my dad says?"

"Matthew, Joshua, why aren't you in class?" a soft but firm voice asked from the main entry of the school. The two boys jumped guiltily then turned to face Mrs. Mitchell, Gus' teacher. "You boys better get going, okay?"

"Yes, Mrs. Mitchell," both boys chimed together, then they darted toward the door. Matthew soon disappeared down the hall, but Joshua paused at the top of the stairs and glanced back, a troubled look on his face. He stood there for a moment before also racing away.

"Are you okay, Gus?" Mrs. Mitchell gently queried the shaken boy.

"Sure Mrs. Mitchell. I normally avoid the two of them, but Pops dropped me off here a little earlier than usual and bam—there they were." Gus moved toward the door, anxious to get away. "I'll see you in class, Mrs. Mitchell."

The young teacher watched as Gus tore off toward the classroom, a pensive look on her face. She definitely needed to keep an eye on the situation.

Gus experienced more of the same from Matthew, as well as several others, during the next weeks. He found the words 'Queer's Boy' painted across his locker one day, and on another, had a paper with 'Faggot's Son' written on it stuck to his back with a piece of tape. However, the auburn-haired eight-year-old never complained, either to his teacher or to his dads. He wasn't aware that Mrs. Mitchell had seen what was going on and had made plans to squelch the problem.

Gus walked into his classroom after lunch on a cool, sunny Monday in early November, looking forward to talking to his friends. He was excited because his dad and Pops had promised, over the past weekend, to take him to California to visit Disneyland for his birthday. They were going to drive cross-country and be gone for two whole weeks. He could hardly wait.

Mrs. Mitchell was standing in front of the room, holding a pile of papers. As the kids in the class came in and settled down, she began walking up and down the aisles, speaking quietly as she handed out the new assignment. "As you can see, we will be working on a new project for social studies. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the diversity of the families in our class. First of all, can anyone explain the meaning of diversity?"

A number of hands went up. "Yes, Katie?"

A pretty redhead answered, "Diversity means different or variety." She looked pleased when the teacher nodded her approval.

"Correct. Now, in what ways are our families different? Robbie?"

"Umm, the number of brothers or sisters?"

"Yes, any other ways? Gus?"

Gus tensed and considered his answer for a moment then said, "Who our parents are." He relaxed when Mrs. Mitchell smiled at him.

"Very good. As we can see, there are many ways that our families are different. Now, about the projects. You have five weeks to complete them. The reports should consist of at least two different parts—a visual display as well as a written report. All projects will be on display right before the winter break at Parents Day. The top three students will make their presentations to the parents that day. Any questions?"

Gus stopped listening as Mrs. Mitchell began answering the various questions of his classmates. He dreaded another project that put his family on display—he was still getting grief from the last one. Great, now he would be providing even _more_ ammo for his tormentors.

Yep, school _really_ sucked these days.


	2. On Your Mark

On Your Mark…

The final bell rang for the day and Gus breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly gathered his stuff shoving it into his backpack, grabbed his coat and headed out the door. He sped up when he saw his friend Rachel just in front of him, calling out, "Hey Rachel, wait up."

The petite blonde girl stopped and turned around, grinning at her friend. "Gus, hurry up. My mom's meeting me outside so we can go shopping. So, how did you do on the math test?"

Gus flinched as he thought of his score. "Not very well. I got a ninety-two on it. Stupid multiplication tables. I always get stuck on the seven times."

His friend laughed, "Idiot. Only you would think a ninety-two isn't any good. Here I was happy I got an eighty-seven on it. Sometimes I really hate you, ya know?" Rachel shot Gus a mischievous look from the corner of her eye.

Gus responded by blowing a raspberry in her direction.

"Oh, real mature, you jerk." Rachel looked around the front of the school as she and Gus exited the building. "Hey, it looks like my mom's not here yet. Do you see your Pops?"

"Naw, he must be running late. Wanna go sit over there under the tree?" Gus gestured to a large oak tree nearby. At his friend's nod, he walked over, dropped his backpack and flopped to the ground. Rachel sat down next to him, shoulders touching as they both leaned against the broad tree trunk.

Rachel peeked at the boy beside her and asked, "Are you excited about your trip? When do you leave?"

"You have no idea how stoked I am about it. We're going to leave on Saturday, and won't be home until the Sunday after Thanksgiving." Gus pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and took a big gulp. "Sixteen days with my dads, plus a birthday party on Friday and a trip to Disneyland to top it off. I _sooo_ can't wait."

"You are so lucky. You get good grades, have two cool dads, live in a neat home and have just about every toy and gadget known to man."

Gus watched as a look of sadness passed across Rachel's face. "What's the matter, Rach?"

"When Daddy dropped me off last night, he and Mommy got into a huge fight. He missed a child support payment last month, and she asked him to make it up this month. He started yelling he had another family to take care of and that she wasn't his responsibility any more. Said she needed to get a second job. They said some pretty mean things to each other."

Gus reached over and squeezed her hand in sympathy as she wiped her tears away. He knew that Rachel and her mom didn't have much money; in fact that was the reason she had spent the last summer over at his house.

Mrs. Sylvester worked during the day as a secretary at a local construction company. At the end of school last year, Pops overheard her asking the third grade teacher for a recommendation for cheap summer daycare. Pops was quiet on the way home that day, and after a brief discussion with Dad, he disappeared into his studio where he placed several phone calls.

The next day, the blond man approached Rachel's mom and requested that Rachel be allowed to keep Gus company for the summer. He explained that he had volunteered to teach some summer art classes at a local school and that both children could be enrolled for free. Stunned, the woman happily agreed.

Her mom dropped off Rachel at the loft each morning on the way to work. Pops would fix the kids breakfast before the three of them headed off to the school. Rachel took classes in puppet making and watercolors while Gus attended the classes in photography and video editing. They both took a drawing class that Pops taught and had enjoyed the friendly competition for the role of teacher's pet.

After the morning classes were over, Pops would normally take them to the diner on Liberty Avenue for lunch. Sometimes after lunch they would go to the zoo or the children's museum, or spend the afternoon at a nearby swimming pool, but usually they just hung around at the loft while Pops worked in his studio. The two friends watched movies or played on the computer until Mrs. Sylvester got off work and picked Rachel up.

The sound of a blaring car horn brought Gus out of his thoughts. Looking up, he smiled as he saw his dad's Corvette pull up to the curb. He swiftly stood and picked up his backpack, then glancing at Rachel, quietly asked, "You going to be okay?"

Nodding, she also stood up and collected her things. "Yes, I'm fine. In fact, there's mom now." She waved at her mom then reminded Gus, "Don't forget we have to turn in an outline of our project by Friday. Do you have any ideas yet?"

"No, but I'll let you know when I come up with one." Gus hugged his friend and headed toward the car. "See you tomorrow." When he got to the Corvette, he opened the door and climbed in. After buckling his seatbelt, he looked over at his dad and beamed.

Brian reached over and tousled his son's hair. "Hey there, Sonny Boy. How was school today?"

"Same old, same old. Where's Pops? I thought he was picking me up today." Gus fiddled with the radio as he waited for his dad's response.

"Your Aunt Molly had car trouble, so he went to pick her up." Brian put the car in gear and carefully pulled away from the curb. "Okay, you have two choices. You can either go to Kinnetik with me, keeping in mind that I still have two meetings left today, or I can drop you off at the diner and you can go home with your Grandma Deb. Either Justin or I will pick you up as soon as possible from her house."

Gus thought for a minute then said, "I think I'll go to the diner. I can sit at one of the booths and do my homework while Grandma Deb brings me food."

Brian shook his head ruefully and snarked, "Geeze, sometimes I think you're really Justin's son, the way you eat. Okay, the diner it is."

"Oh, Dad? Can you please remind me to ask Pops to talk to Mrs. Mitchell tomorrow? She has a form he needs to fill out so I can get the work I'll miss while we're on vacation."

Brian nodded. "Sure, Gus. Are you going to miss anything important?"

"Not really. There's a field trip to the museum next week but you know how many times Pops has dragged me there, so that's no biggie." The two Kinneys grinned at one another; each one thinking about how enthusiastic their resident artist was about art of all kinds. "There is also a test in science, but Mrs. Mitchell told me I could make it up when we get back. She thinks the trip is a great idea—she said it would be 'educational'. Guess she wanted to ruin it for me!" Gus laughed.

Father and son quietly talked about their day as they drove through the busy Pittsburgh streets. Brian stopped the car directly in front of the diner, then warned his son, "Remember, no goofing around until all your homework is done, and be good for Deb."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Gus jumped out of the car and stuck his head back in the door. "You know I'm always good for Grandma, cause if I'm not, she'll just smack me up side of the head."

"Get out of here, brat. If you have any problems, call me on my cell. I'll see you tonight, Gus."

"Later, Dad." Gus grabbed his backpack and turned towards the diner. Brian waited until he was safely inside before heading back to the office.

Gus breezed through the door with a cheery, "Afternoon, Grandma." As he walked through the diner to his dads' usual booth, several of the regulars called out a greeting to the small boy. He responded with a smile and a wave. He tossed his backpack onto the table and slid across the seat just as Deb arrived at his side.

"Hi, sweetie, I hear you're stuck with me this afternoon until either Sunshine or your dad can rescue you. That'll be fun, won't it? Hungry?"

Gus smiled at the redheaded woman and replied, "I'm not stuck with you—more like you got landed with me. Anyway, I'm starving. Can I have a chili-cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake?"

"Sure baby. Do you have any homework? We can't leave here until my shift is over at five, so you should have plenty of time if you do."

"I probably have a couple of hours of homework, so I'll just sit here and work on it."

"Let me go put in your order. Be right back." With that, Deb leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, then went back to the kitchen to get his food.

Gus removed his textbooks from his pack and laid them out on the table. Deciding to start with his math, he piled the other books to the side and pulled his math book closer to him. He checked his assignment then quickly began to work.

Ten minutes later, he was halfway through his problems when a mouthwatering odor caught his attention. Looking up, he found Deb standing there, holding his food.

"Okay, Gus, put that away and get started on this." Deb placed the plate and glass in front of the boy as he shoved his math on top of his other books. She looked around the nearly empty diner, deciding she could take a few minutes to talk to Gus while he was eating and sat down in the booth opposite of her grandson.

"Ready for your trip, honey? Justin said you were leaving on Saturday and won't be at the house for Thanksgiving. We're gonna miss you guys."

"Come on, Grandma. It's not like you don't see us all the time! I'm _really_ excited about the trip. Dad told me we could spend two whole days at Disneyland. He promised me Pops would ride every ride with me."

Deb had a confused look on her face. "Wait a second, let me get this straight. Brian promised that _Sunshine_ would ride the rides with you. What's wrong with him getting that skinny ass of his on the rides?"

Gus fidgeted with his silverware, darting a nervous look around the diner. "You gotta promise me not to tell anyone, Grandma, but dad gets pretty sick on the fast rides. Pops took us to the state fair last year and when we rode the Hurricane, Dad turned all these weird colors. Pops had to practically carry him back to the car. By the time we got home, Dad was feeling a bit better—well enough to promise all sorts of horrible punishment for both of us if anyone found out."

Deb had started laughing halfway through Gus' speech. "Sweetie, I won't tell a soul that your dad is human—we wouldn't want to ruin his reputation for being an asshole."

"Thanks, Grandma." Gus smiled sweetly at the woman, then ate a few of his french fries. After taking a sip of his milkshake he inquired, "Grandma, can I ask you something?"

"Sure Gus, what is it?"

Gus broached the subject he'd been preoccupied with for the past few weeks, "Why do people hate that Dad and Pops love each other?"

The redheaded waitress studied the young boy in front of her, noting his serious expression. Wondering what had caused the question to be asked but deciding not to probe, for now, she asked, "Do you mean your dad and pops in particular or the fact they're two guys?"

"Two guys. No one has a reason to hate them for themselves," Gus answered, not believing anyone could find fault in the two men he adored. They were perfect in his eyes.

Deb smiled faintly as she thought back to how tumultuous the first few years of the pair in question had been. Brian's fucking of Kip Thomas, the bashing by Hobbs, Justin's relationship with Ethan and the whole Stockwell mess had all caused hard feelings, but the two lovers had finally settled down and were in a monogamous relationship. Mostly. She decided these were subjects best left until Gus was older. Instead she tackled the more general question posed to her.

"Baby, I've been trying to figure out the answer to that question for the past thirty years or so. The best I can come up with is ignorance and a fear of the unknown. It's like they don't realize that a gay man or woman is just a regular person, with regular lives."

"Regular lives?"

"Gay people get up every day, get dressed, eat, go to work, fight with their families and have fun with their friends, just like straight people. Unfortunately, the media has emphasized other aspects of gay life, and many people haven't bothered to learn the truth. What they don't know, they fear and hate."

"What other aspects are you talking about, Grandma?"

Deb flushed slightly when she realized which can of worms she had inadvertently opened. She could just see herself having to explain to Brian and Justin how Gus had learned about sucking and fucking. Not a pretty thought. She decided to take the easy way out, "I'll explain it to you when you're older."

Yep, Gus had heard that comment—a lot.

Deb continued, "A few years ago, I dated a detective who worked for the Pittsburgh PD. His name was Carl Horvath and I met him while he was investigating a murder of a young gay man. When we first met, he was a homophobic jerk, but as he got to know the folks around Liberty Avenue, his views began to change. Now you have to realize, he never got to the point where he was willing to join PFLAG or march in the Pride parade, but he did become more accepting."

"So you think if more people knew about gays, there would be less hatred?"

Deb considered Gus' question for a minute then said, "I think it would help, but unfortunately, there will always be people who disapprove." Deb looked around the room and stood up. "Well, sweetie, I need to get back to work. The dinner crowd will be here soon, and I need to set up for the late shift. Finish your homework, okay?"

Gus swallowed the last of his cheeseburger and handed Deb his empty plate. He quickly went to the restroom and washed his sticky hands, then returning to his booth, pulled out his math. He only had a few problems left to finish, then he had English and science worksheets to complete. He also needed to come up with an idea for his project, since the outline was due at the end of the week.

The afternoon passed quickly, and at ten to five, Gus neatly placed his completed work into his backpack. The only thing left for him to do was figure out his project, but he knew he still had a couple of days before he needed to panic.

Just then, the bell rang above the door and Gus heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey Deb. I understand you have custody of a certain possession of mine. I'm here to collect it."

"SUNSHINE!"

Gus turned to see Deb engulf the young blond man in a tight embrace. He laughed when he heard his Pops say, "I can't breath, Deb." The redhead released Justin and pushed him toward Gus' booth.

"Go on. He's been watered, fed and has finished his homework."

"Hey, buddy. Sorry about this afternoon. Aunt Molly's car wasn't running and with Uncle Jake out of town, I had to go get her and take her to her doctor's appointment. She's waiting for us in the car, so shake a leg."

Gus jumped up and quickly grabbed his things, anxious to see his Aunt Molly. She was eight months pregnant and Gus was looking forward to the infant's arrival—mostly because he wouldn't be the baby of the family anymore.

Dashing out of the diner, Gus approached the blue SUV and knocked on the passenger side window, making a face at the strawberry blonde sitting in the front seat. He then opened the back door and climbed in, buckling his seatbelt as questions poured from his mouth. "So, what did the doctor say? Any new pictures of the baby? Is it a boy or a girl?"

Molly twisted in the seat the best she could and exclaimed, "Whoa there, brat. One question at a time, please. The doctor said the baby is fine—growing like a weed. No, no new pictures today, and you know Uncle Jake and I want to be surprised, so no finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl."

"Spoilsport. Have you picked out names yet?"

Molly looked hesitantly over at Justin as he maneuvered the SUV out into traffic. "Well, we were thinking about Victoria if it's a girl and…"

"Craig if it's a boy. It's okay, Molly. I know you and Dad get along and I understand you wanting to name the baby after him." Justin smiled over at his sister and, removing a hand from the steering wheel, gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "His attitude doesn't bother me any more, Mollusk, okay?"

The young woman smiled and then began teasing Gus about naming the baby after him if it was a girl. Justin shook his head, knowing that whenever his two passengers got started bickering, he never would get a word in edgewise.

They soon reached the modest two-story brick house that Molly shared with her husband. Justin pulled into the driveway and cut off the engine.

"Alright, Mollusk, we're here. Don't worry about the car—the garage said they would call me when it was finished, hopefully late morning tomorrow, then we can go pick it up. If you need to go anywhere before then, give me a shout, okay?"

"Sure, Jus. I don't think I have anything scheduled for the morning, but I'll call if something comes up." Molly awkwardly got out of the car and turned to close the door, saying, "I'll see you Friday, Gus, at the party."

"Is Uncle Jake going to be there?"

"He should be home by then, but whether he is or not, I'll be there. Later, guys." She closed the door and carefully waddled towards the front door of her home, blissfully unaware of the two sitting in the car, laughing at her progress.

"She looks like a duck, huh Pops?"

"Yeah, but you better not tell her that—she's downright scary when she's angry." Justin pulled away from the house and they headed for home.


End file.
